1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatuses for geomodel uplayering. More particularly, various embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and apparatuses that employ regionalization and non-uniform uplayering to accurately reduce geomodel complexity.
2. Description of the Related Art
Geologic models, such as petroleum reservoir geologic models, are often utilized by computer systems for simulation. For example, computer systems may utilize petroleum reservoir geologic models to simulate the flow and location of hydrocarbons within a reservoir. Geologic models are typically formed utilizing millions, or in some cases billions, of geologic cells, with each cell corresponding to a location and a physical geologic feature. As there is a general correlation between the number of cells a model contains and the simulation accuracy provided by the model, it is generally desirable to form geologic models utilizing as many cells as possible. Unfortunately, available computing power and time constraints limit the number of cells that may be practically utilized by geologic models. For instance, billion cell geologic models may be formed to accurately reflect a petroleum reservoir, but the computing power required to simulate a billion cell model in a reasonable amount of time may require the use of massively parallel and prohibitively expensive computing systems.
To reduce the complexity of geologic models, and thus the computing power required for simulation, upscaling methods have been developed. Conventional upscaling methods typically uniformly group layers of cells into a coarse model that may be used for simulation. Unfortunately, such coarse and uniform grouping results in a loss of model heterogeneity and a reduction in the accuracy of computer simulations.